Discoms' outstanding dues to gencos nearly halved in Jan

New Delhi: Total outstanding dues owed by electricity distribution companies (discoms) to power producers almost halved to Rs 62,681.68 crore in January, compared to Rs 1,21,030 crore in same month in 2022.

Experts said this substantial reduction in the discoms' total outstanding is mainly due to various steps taken by the government, like implementation of late payment surcharge rules and providing facility of equated monthly installments (EMIs) to utilities. According to the portal PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators), the total outstanding dues of discoms stood at Rs 62,681.68 crore in January, 2023, which included Rs 25,526.42 crore overdue amount, that was not cleared even after 45 days of grace period offered by generators.

In January 2022, the total outstanding dues of discoms stood at Rs 1,21,030 crore, which included the total overdue amount of Rs 1,01,357 crore. Power producers give 45 days to discoms to pay bills for electricity supply. After that, outstanding dues become overdue and generators charge penal interest on that in most cases. The PRAAPTI portal was launched in May 2018, to bring in transparency in power-purchase transactions between generators and discoms. The portal has been revamped recently. Earlier in November, 2022, the power ministry had stated that with the implementation of Electricity (LPS and Related Matters) Rules, 2022, remarkable improvement has been seen in recovery of outstanding dues of Suppliers including Generating Companies, Transmission Companies and Traders.